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The Nostalgic Appeal of Instant Cameras—and Why They’re Back

With features fit for Instagram addicts, instant cameras are staging a comeback. Here, we test three new models

By

Paul Schrodt

May 24, 2018 1:18 p.m. ET

EVERYTHING OLD might be new again, but it can still be improved. Brands including Polaroid—rallying after two bankruptcies—and Fujifilm have revived chunky instant-film cameras with a twist: The new models are more accessible and useful than the ones we manically overused as kids, snapping contemptuous cats over and over, hoping the next exposure might finally come out right.

While anyone can now take pictures in endless ways, Fujifilms’s Instax line has caught on precisely because of its charming limitations. No app can...